Rumor has it that Steve Kerr practically begged Leandro Barbosa to re-sign with the Warriors a few summers ago. But Barbosa, then 34, took the money. Phoenix offered him a two-year deal worth $8 million, with $4.5 million guaranteed, in July 2016 and that was more than the Warriors could pay him.

A case could be made they needed an upgrade from Barbosa. For two seasons, Barbosa had given the Warriors 15 minutes off the bench during the regular season, about 11 minutes in the playoffs. He averaged just 6.7 points per game in his two years, just over 5.0 points in the postseason.

But Barbosa was reliable. That was 15 minutes they knew they would get his ability to be a force in transition, to stick open 3-pointers at a 37 percent clip in a Warriors uniform. And that mattered because he was backing up Klay Thompson.

Since then, the Warriors have had the hardest time finding someone reliable to back up Thompson. Or Stephen Curry, for that matter.